Check your Universal Credit

10th May 2022

We have come across a number of instances recently where a simple examination of a monthly Universal Credit (UC)statement has revealed that mistakes have been made in the calculation of the benefit paid. This can mean someone is being underpaid because of an incorrect deduction or a mistake in the data. A recent example is where the housing element being paid had been based on the weekly rent rather than the monthly rent resulting in a £300 under-payment.

Of course errors can go both ways and DWP may be overpaying you in which case when the mistake is discovered there could be a large sum to repay. This too needs to be avoided.

So do check your UC regularly, especially at the start of the financial year in April when rates change and figures are updated. You can check your statement by logging onto UC online and on the home page select “payments”. You should then see a list of statements for each month. Select the most recent and look not just at the final amount at the top but how it is made up and see if you agree and it all makes sense. You can also check it by using an online benefits checker such as https://www.entitledto.co.uk/   or by asking for a benefit check at Citizen Advice, Frontline or another adviser service.

Keep an eye on what you are being paid and if it changes significantly without any explanation check it out. Unfortunately DWP are not infallible!